Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Wu Dao could naturally feel the competitive atmosphere between O'Neal and Garnett.

Although it is true that it is the playoffs, in fact, when this situation occurs on the court, the players of both teams will actually develop a wonderful tacit understanding.

None of them would rashly join in such a one-on-one match.

To put it bluntly, the reason why Wu Dao did this was because he didn't have enough confidence in Garnett.

Budo tried to alert O'Neal through his steals, so that he would not be able to go deep into the basket and receive the ball near the basket on the side of the paint area when he received the ball.

For a player of O'Neal's level, as long as he could receive the ball in that position, even if he faced Garnett in his prime, there would probably be no way to stop O'Neal from scoring.

Not to mention Garnett, even if the opponent was the peak Olajuwon who once bullied the young Shark, the result would most likely be the same.

A low-post beast like O'Neal is synonymous with invincibility in the sweet spot.

As long as he can find a way to prevent O'Neal from receiving the ball near the basket, Garnett will have a chance to stop his opponent's attack in a one-on-one battle.

Of course, this little trick of martial arts is actually very well hidden.

Whether it is the players on the field or the fans in the stands, few people actually noticed this. No one would think that Wu Dao suddenly made a steal because he felt that Garnett was not as good as O'Neal.

The Lakers players will only think that they let their guard down too much, and the Lakers fans will only think that the players on their team were too casual in handling the ball, ignoring that this is a playoff game.

On the surface, Garnett will not lose any of his due face.

After being intercepted and counterattacked by Wudao Dacheng, the Lakers were obviously much more cautious in handling the ball during the counterattack.

After Fisher slowly dribbled the ball into the Timberwolves' half, he did not completely ignore Wu Dao's position as he did in the previous few passes. Instead, he paid close attention to Wu Dao's landing direction before setting his sights on O'Neal.

O'Neal, who was going to receive the ball and attack, was obviously much more cautious this time. He did not choose to go deep into the basket and receive the ball within two meters of the basket. He took the initiative to move to the mid-range before turning his back to ask for the ball.

The position where he received the ball was just inside the extended free throw line, no more than 3 meters away from Fisher outside the three-point line.

O'Neal would stretch to this position to receive the ball, the main purpose of which was to prevent Wu Dao from rushing out from the side and stealing the ball for him.

Closer distance to the No. 1 position can also shorten the passing route between players and reduce the possibility of the basketball being stolen.

Although such an adjustment makes it easier for O'Neal to receive the ball and reduces the possibility of team mistakes, it also has obvious disadvantages for the main attacker O'Neal himself.

After receiving the ball in this position, O'Neal needs to make more moves to get closer to the basket. Not to mention that this kind of offense will increase O'Neal's physical energy consumption, it is also a test for O'Neal's personal offensive skills.

Because in the minds of most fans, the position where O'Neal can launch an attack is often near the basket, and such a mid-range is not the sweet spot for O'Neal to attack with the ball.

However, O'Neal, who has already tied the score with Garnett, no longer cares about such small details.

The basketball passed from Fisher's hands and was successfully delivered to O'Neal's hands.

After receiving the ball, O'Neal first glanced at Wu Dao inside the three-point line on the same side, and then slowly turned his head to look at Garnett behind him.

Garnett's defense was also very methodical. He did not choose to engage in hand-to-hand combat with O'Neal, but deliberately left himself nearly 20 cm of space to leave himself some room for reaction.

If O'Neal wanted to confront, Garnett in this position could choose to remove the bench first and then rely on his speed to try to steal the ball. Even if the steal opportunity was not very good, Garnett could follow O'Neal in the direction of his advance and wait for the moment when O'Neal attacked the basket.

Garnett is very confident in his speed and jumping ability. If O'Neal wants to break through and attack the basket, he is confident that he can intercept O'Neal in the running game.

Garnett's calculations were banging away.

But O'Neal is not a fool. The moment he noticed Garnett took the initiative to distance himself from him, he also realized the opponent's defensive intention.

Although time was passing by every second, O'Neal was not in a hurry at all.

The basketball slowly fell down. O'Neal's steps were steady and firm. He moved back and pressed his body against Garnett.

Back attack.

The post-up play started from mid-range, and the pace was not fast, and the aggressiveness did not seem very strong. O'Neal's first post-up play was very calm, and Garnett did not find any opportunity to steal the ball.

Without much hesitation, as O'Neal approached, Garnett also stepped back half a step and once again took the initiative to distance himself.

Zai Wudao had no intention of double-teaming O'Neal from the outside. If he intervened again in this one-on-one situation, it would be tantamount to defusing Garnett's energy in advance.

Not only may the fans have objections to this, but Garnett himself may also have objections.

Don't underestimate the self-esteem of any NBA player. When they want to play one-on-one on the court, it's best to go along with their ideas, unless you don't want to work with these people again.

Sometimes Garnett's personality is actually somewhat similar to Kobe's.

Every superstar who can grow into the top of the league has a paranoid side.

When Kobe wanted to play one-on-one, he would never allow his teammates to come up to help, just like when he faced Jordan in his first All-Star Game. Even Malone, a league veteran who had been famous for many years, wanted to support young people and took the initiative to go small to screen for Kobe, but was waved away by the young Kobe.

Kobe drove Malone away like he was driving away a stray dog, which made Malone, who had given face to Kobe, lose face.
It was also after that All-Star Game that Malone angrily denounced young people for their lack of team spirit in front of the media and claimed that he did not want to work with players like Kobe again.

Although Garnett's paranoia is not as high as Kobe's, it should not be underestimated.

For Wu Dao at this stage, Garnett is an indispensable piece of the puzzle for him to win the championship. If the situation permits, he can play according to Garnett's wishes.

Without double-teaming from the outside, Garnett, who was facing O'Neal head-on, had no way of finding a good opportunity to get around the opponent's back-to-the-basket attack. He could only retreat again to gain space for himself.

O'Neal seemed to have anticipated Garnett's next move. He continued to play steadily, once again blocked the ball and retreated, leaning his body on Garnett again.

Garnett actually didn't want to have such close physical contact with O'Neal. The opponent's terrifying strength also left a very deep impression on him. If O'Neal suddenly exerted force, Garnett would also be passively engaged in physical confrontation with the opponent.

With his strength, if he had a physical confrontation with O'Neal, he would have to lower his center of gravity and try to keep himself steady. Doing so would cause Garnett to lose speed completely. If O'Neal turned and broke through at this time, Garnett might not be able to keep up.

In order to allow yourself to have enough energy to react immediately, it is crucial to maintain a physical gap between yourself and the offensive players.

Unless Garnett is the one with the strength advantage, in which case he can take the initiative to seek physical confrontation with the opponent, but it is obvious that O'Neal has the advantage.

O'Neal's offensive means at a distance of about 3 meters from the basket are indeed rare, but rare, it does not mean that O'Neal will have no way to face Garnett's defense. He has been in the league for so many years, and among the many players he has played against, Barkley has always been O'Neal's favorite player.

He knows very well what effect his big butt can have in the game.

During the game against the Timberwolves, O'Neal was able to make good use of his big butt and act like a flying pig without having to face the pressure of being packed with bags.

Oh no, it's a flying shark.

On the court, every time O'Neal approached, Garnett was forced to retreat.

By the time Garnett realized that he had reached the edge of the paint area and could retreat, the Shark showed his fangs.

After another explosive pass, O'Neal suddenly changed his rhythm. He held the ball with both hands, took a small jump, and leaned his body directly on Garnett.

The enormous force was directly poured onto Garnett who was caught off guard, forcing him to be unable to jump.

After finding the physical confrontation, O'Neal quickly got up, changed hands in the air, and sent the ball directly into the basket with his left hand.

"Shh!"

As the basketball went into the net with a slight sound, the Timberwolves fans in the stands gasped and looked disappointed.

But the Lakers fans were as happy as if they had picked up money. Some of the "gentlemen" in suits and ties sitting in the inner court cheered continuously, looking like they were full of energy.

On the sidelines, although Coach Philip was somewhat dissatisfied with Wu Dao's defensive choice in this round, he did not say much.

After the Lakers scored, he just clapped his hands, as if he was cheering for Garnett, or as if he was suppressing the anger in his heart and forcing himself to calm down.

The Timberwolves' substitutes were not as sensitive and eager for quick success as Coach Philip. This game had just begun, and it was not unacceptable for the team to let the players on the field try something.

This is actually the difference in thinking between the head coach and the players.

For the players, challenging the strong is a must, and winning is also a must, and these two things are not in conflict.

But for the head coach, any situation that does not conform to the tactical positioning is in direct conflict with the ultimate goal of winning.

Between offense and defense, the basketball was once again given to Garnett.

However, this time, Garnett did not choose to play one-on-one. Instead, he stood in a high position, pulled O'Neal away from the basket, and used his eyes to send a "secret signal" to Wu Dao on the outside.

Who says you can only show your strength in a one-on-one match? !
Garnett wanted to surpass O'Neal completely. He not only wanted to prove himself in one-on-one offense and defense, but also wanted to prove that he was a more versatile inside player than O'Neal.

After receiving the signal from Garnett, Wu Dao used his speed and strength to overpower Eddie Jones on his opponent. The moment he left the walking zone and sank into the bottom corner, he burst out at his maximum speed and went straight to the basket along the baseline.

Garnett held the ball with his back to the basket, and his eyes merely glanced in the direction of Wudao when Wudao accelerated. After a slight prediction, he did not even look in the direction of the basket, but pushed the ball back with both hands.

The basketball flew over O'Neal's head and was accurately delivered to Wudao's hands who had entered the basket.

A beautiful pass without looking at the player, the ball was steadily delivered to Wudao's hands.

Wu Dao, who started with a basketball, also rushed directly under the basket, and dunked the ball into the basket with a backhand despite Robert Horry coming to defend.

The beautiful passes and violent slam dunks completely ignited the enthusiasm of the Timberwolves fans.

Warm cheers flooded into the stadium, and the praises enveloped Garnett and Wu Dao.

"Oh, Kevin's pass is so imaginative!"

“He’s really an outstanding number four!”

"Wu's attack on the basket is too sharp, the Lakers can't stop it at all!"

"Too strong! The two of them are the strongest duo in our Minnesota history!"

The commentator at the Target Center cheered excitedly at this time, praising Garnett and Budo for their beautiful cooperation.

The Timberwolves' offense in this round was indeed strong. Even Coach Philip, who had been showing unhappiness on his face, changed his expression. The wrinkles on his face gathered together and he revealed a bright smile.

Garnett's pass was not actually his original idea.

Previously in the Timberwolves' internal team practice game, Wu Dao actually made such a pass, and the player defending Wu Dao at the time was Garnett.

Of course, Budo is not the original creator of this kind of pass.

In the long history of the NBA, there is certainly more than one player who has made a similar pass. But the most famous one, or the one most widely known by fans, should be Yao Ming.

Yao Ming's assist ability is actually an important weapon that enables him to gain a foothold in the NBA.

Why do fans regret that Yao Ming rejected Kobe and did not choose to leave the Rockets to join the Lakers to form the Yao-Ko combination?
The main reason is that Yao Ming's playing style and Kobe's playing style are really a perfect match.

Not to mention their playing styles and paths, even the personalities of these two players are a perfect match.

If Yao Ming could really abandon his loyalty and choose to join the Lakers and Kobe, then the championship would not really be a dream.

Perhaps in this way, domestic fans will not have such great regrets in their hearts.

And Morey's words and deeds since then have indirectly verified the mistake of Yao Ming's decision. His loyalty has not been respected by the Rockets.

Compared to Yao Ming the player himself, the Rockets may respect the "market" more.

But the Purple and Gold Lakers were different. At that time, old Buss's two children did everything to compete for the team. The brother and sister would do anything to win the championship.

This is actually the management team Yao Ming needs.

(End of this chapter)